A New Beginning
by Umbra-Neko
Summary: Its eighty years before the Elrics are born, three teens are taken by the military to help further the country's development. One teen sets out to find the other two, managing to drag a few blondes in for the ride. SPOILERS FOR BROTHERHOOD FROM THE FIFTH LAB ON! Rated T for now
1. A Fresh Start

This is my first attempt at a story, so be kind to me. I'll accept flames for now, but when they get too bad, THEY SHALL BE BANNED! I don't own the FmA setting, just the people.

My vision was blurry, heart rate was slowed, and nerves were useless. Whatever these crackpot scientists slipped me in the slop they call food had screwed my body to hell and back. My cramped cell's door opened and more scientists came in and dropped me on a wheeled bed. I lost consciousness several times during the trip. I came to when I realized I was tied to a chair in a room full of white cloaked men and women. The world lit up as a single bright light was shined right in my face. I flinched to the side, trying to keep my eyes from melting out of my skull.

"… ready? You… sure…. alright." Was all I heard from the man beside me before the light suddenly went away and was replaced with a dimmer red one.

Fuzzy shapes started to turn back into humans and the sound of tapping chalk reached my under-used, oversensitive ears.

_Chalk? Why would these wackos need to use alchemy in a prison?_ I asked myself while watching them construct the circle. The lines turned into symbols and they morphed the jumbled mess into an intelligible transmutation circle. Even as an alchemist, I couldn't decipher the strange symbols arranged at the edge of the circle.

"Thank you very much for coming here, miss! You have the military's gratitude for partaking in such a dangerous experiment." The scientist in front of me said in what I knew was false thanks.

"Experiment? W-what are you going to do me?" I asked with as much fury as my, also under-used, voice could allow.

"It's quite simple, miss." The man walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "The military needs soldiers who will obey their every command without doubt or emotion. Human-animal experimentation is the first step in finding the perfect army, and you, my dear," One hand trailed to my chin that sent a chill down my spine. "are one of the many humans to be used in our experiments."

With as much strength as I could muster, I wrenched away from his icy hands and sent a kick into his solar plexus*. The force sent the man on his back a few feet from me. A smirk found its way to my lips as the man didn't get back up.

_Only knocked out, but it'll still work._ I thought with a smirk remaining.

I rocked to my feet and stood for a few moments before falling forward. Now my face hurt and I was going to be used in apparently-legal experiments. Someone wrenched my chair up, giving me a head rush. Two scrawny scientists were dragging their unconscious teammate out of range of another strike if he dared get up. A quiet mew forced my attention from the scientists to a woman behind me. In her hands was a white cat with gray flecks and black tips. They set the feline in my lap and quickly walked out of the circle. The furry creature shook and mewled in fear. Even this unknowing animal knew something bad was happening.

The transmutation started in flashes of red light crackling through the musty air. After a shot of light went through my chest, everything went black.

I blinked my eyes open with pain. Even twitching my fingers hurt. Once the darkness around me turned into actual shapes and colors, more stainless steel bars were there, keeping me in one area. After sitting up, I ground my thumbs into my temples then let my hands drag down my head, then something didn't hit me.

I patted the sides of my head where my ears where supposed to be frantically. "W-what the…", then something flicked. "Oh shit… please don't tell me…"

I trailed my hand up to my scalp and low and behold, there were my ears. Except they were now triangular and fuzzy. Just to add to my luck, finally another fuzzy appendage smacked my hand. I stared down over my shoulder and a black tipped, white tail smacked me in the nose.

"Dammmn…" I groaned.

Falling back onto the somewhat comfy cot ended up with a wrongly bent tail and a cat hiss erupting from my throat. This would take some practice for sure. My ears unintentionally flicked upward when the steel room door started to open, then flattened back at the high pitched screech. A scientist met my eyes with his own dark ones, mostly hidden behind glasses. I quickly realized it was the same man I KO'd. I turned around and wrapped my tail around my waist then flattened my ears, never leaving my bed once.

"Greetings, chimera." He grumbled roughly.

Ears still pinned back, I scoffed in his general direction then twisted my head back forward.

"Look chimera, you may have narrowly escaped death after the transmutation, but that doesn't mean you'll live past today."

I spun back around, my tail smacking me in the back of the head and back. "And what makes you think that, weakling? Last time I checked, you couldn't stay conscious after a single kick!"

A look of fury and annoyance graced his ugly face. He plopped the two trays onto the sliding one that went into my cage. "You might want to be careful with one of those." He mentioned over his shoulder with an audible sneer.

Before completely leaving the room, the man reached into his pocket and tossed a small block toward me, which ricocheted off the metal to a few feet away from my cage.

"Your brother said to give that to you, before we dragged him into the transmutation room."

I lunged to the bars and gripped them with newfound strength to leave handprints in the stainless steel. "YOU BASTARDS! LET MY BROTHER GO!"

My yowling went unheeded, all the man did was laugh and slam the door closed. The buzzing florescent lights offered background noise in my rage induced boredom. I glanced at the block then at my bare feet. With my dexterous toes, I was able to grab the block and bring it into the cage. I sighed and tossed the rubber block up and down a few times before a scratched side slipped pass my fingers.

The scratches turned out to be writing. "Brother, you know how to keep me in trouble, don't you?" I mumbled with a smile.

After running my fingers over it a few times, I was able to make out the word 'clap'.

"Now what kind of cryptic note have you given me?" I turned the block over a few more times before setting it down.

_Clap, huh…_ I heeded the command and pressed my palms together repeatedly.

"Woop-de-doo…" I grumbled sarcastically.

Sighing, I leaned back on my hands and looked around the blank concrete room. "Now what?"

A growl from my gut answered my question, and the slop in the two trays became very appealing, no matter how vile it was going to taste.

"_You might want to be careful with one of those." _The scientist's comment echoed in my mind.

_Now if I'm so important, why would they try and poison me?_

Pulling the larger sliding tray inside my cage, a new, odd scent hit my nose. I bent over each tray, each having a slab of over-cooked, visibly gristly steak and a personal size loaf of stale bread. I easily scented that the steak to my right was giving off the odd scent.

"Ah, that's why, those guys must be trying to test out my new senses. Well, challenge accepted."

The only time I utilized a fork that day was to stab the poisoned beef and throw it into the 'thick' one-way glass in the door where it stuck.

*solar plexus - the center of the abdomen where strikes are most effective

Woo! You made it this far without dying! Now just click that little button at the bottom that says "Review" if you would be so kind. I crave your criticism!


	2. Possible Freedom

**Yay! Chapter two! If you're reading this, then I must not be doing too bad! **

**Thanks **_**Jay**_** for the awesome review! The tips were very helpful and your questions will be answered in due time. There's a plot hidden in here somewhere!**

It's hard to say whether that my life got better or worse after being stolen by the military and transmuted with a cat. I expected a long beating for kicking one of the head scientists (I later found out), but all I acquired in an answer was, "With your condition, no matter how much you deserve it, we can't afford your physical condition to be altered in anyway." As time went on, my human senses compensated with the heightened feline ones. The results were all in my favor. More acute hearing and smell, a better line of sight, and the fact I was now able to "taste" air if I left my mouth open for any amount of time. The only thing that didn't change was touch. Because if it did, that meant I would have whiskers protruding from my upper lip and that didn't seem like a good thing.

Even time wasn't an issue, that much. Nocturnal feline instincts and diurnal human ones didn't ever settle their conflict. The clock above the door had a small switch in that pointed to a sun or a moon when the hour hand passed the twelve, but that didn't matter much. My sleep revolved around insomnia or narcolepsy.

The door creaked open and in came some random scientist with a bowl of gruel. I didn't bother to lift my head from the lumpy pillow, but I did when she suddenly cleared her throat.

"What do you want? More blood work?" I grumbled.

She flinched back at my harsh tone. "Uh, no. Professor Pentu gave me a message for you-"

I sat up and glared at the young woman. "Why didn't that bastard come give me the message himself? Why pass up the chance to taunt the pissed animal in a cage?"

"The professor c-couldn't because he's busy with another transmutation." She replied, trying to hide a stutter. "He said, 'I'm getting bored of calling you Chimera, so now we'll all start calling you Knil. Because you are the distorted link in our chain of power.' That's it." The woman placed the bowl on the sliding tray and left the room.

I fell back again, quickly making sure my tail wasn't going to be bent. _Knil huh? Well it's better than Chimera, and no name at all._

After devouring the bland water-barley mixture, the cat's mind finally suggested that a nap was needed. Despite the scratchiness of the prison garb I was wearing, I was able to get conformable in a tight ball with my tail curled along my front. The fluffy hairs tickled my nose and I swiftly moved the tip away. I had contemplated cutting them off because of their sheer annoyance, but then Kitten always cut in and threw a fit about anything touching our "very special and extremely fluffy" tail. Just as sleep was about to come, a new scent wafted in, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

Blood. Metallic, warm smelling life essence, and the smell was seeping through the door. I stood straight up and pressed against the bars of my cage toward the door.

"Another failed experiment. We haven't been able to create another chimera since Raven lived through his." A scientist brooded .

A warm wave flooded me. _Raven's alive!_

One other spoke up. "But so far, Knil and those other two are the only ones who needed- Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot!" The first scolded. "**She** can hear us!"

It was silent after that. I fell limp to the floor and tried to get a grip. _Raven's alive! He's alive! What about Brother? Is he the other that lived? I hope so._ I sighed and leaned against the bars.

Sleep finally came back around and I welcomed it.

"_Brother! Help!" A young girl sprinted toward an older boy swinging on a squeaky swing set._

_He leapt out and held the child at arm's length by the shoulders. "What's wrong Sister?"_

_The girl took a deep breath. "There's a boy over there! He's passed out by a tree and he's losing a lot of blood! Hurry up!"_

_She started pulling on his arm, leading the elder to the small forest lining the smaller park. She finally let go and both siblings started running. A child, not much bigger than the girl, was leaning against a tree soon came into view. So did the blood that dripped from him. The siblings slowed to a stop and knelt beside the boy._

_A large gash was oozing blood above the boy's right eyebrow along with some others along his cheeks, arms, and torso. The sound of ripping of fabric caught the girl's attention suddenly._

"_Well just don't sit there!" Her brother scolded while tying the large strip of shirt fabric around the young boy's eyebrows. "Do what I'm doing to his other cuts."_

_She nodded and started putting smaller patches of material on the ones that couldn't be wrapped. Once the bleeding was slowed, the elder boy picked the unconscious one up onto his back._

"_Come on, we need to take him home. Make sure he doesn't fall." The brother ordered softly, as if not to wake the other._

_The girl nodded once again and kept a shaky hand on the boy's upper back. The siblings' home turned out to be a small abandoned house. She ran forward and opened the crooked door. The eldest laid the boy on a small bed and ran out of the room. The girl kept a close eye on the wounded boy. When his eyes started to open, she gasped._

"_Hey, how are you feeling?"_

_He groaned and sat up on his elbows. "Not very good, how else should I feel?" Was his raspy retort. "Wait." His brown eyes opened wide. "Where am I? Who are you?"_

"_You're in my brother and I's house. As for my name, I don't have one. So call me whatever you want." She smirked with the short ending._

_The boy stared at her with a weary gleam. "I don't have one either. Does your brother have a name?"_

_She shook her head. "We just call each other Brother and Sister. If you'll stay with us, we might just call you Brother, or something along those lines."_

_He chuckled with obvious pain. "I guess I have to. With these cuts and bruises I won't be able to get very far."_

_A small giggle left the girl, but creaking wood stopped the conversation. The eldest sped walked in with a dripping washcloth and a roll of bandages_

"_Hey, you're awake. That's good." He slowed down considerably. "We can't leave all this cloth on your cuts." He emptied his hands onto the bed and starting peeling the shreds of fabric off of the younger boy._

_The younger flinched, but didn't make too big of a fuss. The girl watched as her brother started cleaning and wrapping the cuts._

"_Where'd you get these anyway?" She pointed to the numerous wounds._

_The eldest stopped his bandaging and watched the boy. He dropped his wrapped head, letting his bangs droop in front of his eyes._

"_Let's just leave it at I did something someone didn't like and they saw fit to punish me." He murmured, never lifting his head._

_The siblings swapped sideways glances before the eldest continued his doctoring._

"Hey! Knil! Wake up you lazy chimera!" A gruff voice shouted.

I jerked away from my dream and glared at the man who woke me up. "Hey there Pentu, did you have fun killing another human?"

The spectacled man smiled evilly. "Yes. This one was going to be a goat chimera, but the horns grew out of the girl's heart."

I turned my head away and snorted. "Sadistic bastard. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No, I have a proposition for you, my caged chimera." Pentu squatted to meet my blue eyes. "The military has deemed you fit enough for war, and we are currently struggling with one to the northeast with Xing. If you agree to fight, we'll let you go free. " My ears involuntarily went from flattened to pointed in a split second. His pale hand slipped between the bars. "Do we have a deal?"

**Ha! Cliff hanger! If you want to know Knil's answer, I want more than one review this time! Two words to a paragraph, I don't mind how much, all that matters is that you click that magical little button!**


	3. Final Decision

**Hello! I return bearing another chapter! Sorry for the slight delay, northern automail construction for A-kon has demanded my attention for the last week. Thanks **_**Jay**_** and **_**Cold Flame96**_** for the excellent and loved reviews!**

**Cold Flame96, Ed and Winry do play vital rolls later on (not too far off from right now actually! ^-^). Though Knil sees more of the Brothers than Winry, Winry is as crucial as them. That's why they're the main characters.**

**Now with no further ado, I shall release the cliff hanger ender!**

"_-If you agree to fight, we'll let you go free. " My ears involuntarily went from flattened to pointed in a split second. His pale hand slipped between the bars. "Do we have a deal?"_

I couldn't believe this arrogant bastard. My freedom in exchange for killing people in battles that I probably wouldn't live through anyway. All on top of helping the people who destroyed my chance at a some-what normal life.

I stood up and stared down the white cloaked man. "There's nothing you can offer me to make me throw away my life in exchange for helping you people!" I shouted in pure rage.

Pentu stood up, a full head taller than me, and now stared me down. "Well that's too bad. We were hoping you would take the position, but I guess one of those other two will do just as well." He trailed off as he left.

I had to get my temper under control and sending a fist into the steel bars helped immensely. Though I had to bend it back after I made a large dent in the metal. I flopped onto my bed, face down, and curled up in as tight of a ball as possible.

Kitten popped up in my mind, and she was almost as mad as I was. _**Knil, we cannot stay here anymore! **_Her pissed off but concerned mew shifted my attention to a mental conversation.

_I know that! You heard him as clearly as I did._

She was silent for a moment. _**What if we accept his offer after all? It does not sound all that terrible.**_

_Are you crazy? We'll be sent straight off to war! There's too big of a chance that we won't survive!_

_**Would you listen and think a little longer on the matter? Together, we can overpower three men, sniff out poison, hear through thick metal doors, and see better at night than a normal human. There is no reason for us not to.**_

The cat had a point. I sighed and agreed to her plan. Uncurling from my warm ball of body heat to see the clock, the hands gestured it was about ten at night. Since my food would be brought in a few minutes, I sat up and watched the door until the gruel arrived.

The metal hinges screeched when some odd assistant of Pentu's came in. He didn't look much older than me, sadly enough. The kid set the full tin bowl down after picking the empty bowl up. He obviously heard enough about me, because he just barely acknowledged my existence with a slight glance.

"Hey kid." I spoke up just as he was about to leave.

He spun around on his heel with an extremely irritated look covering his face. "I'm no kid!" The boy shouted.

I couldn't help but laugh, his retort had just proved he is a kid. His face scrunched up like a five-year old throwing a fit too. "What's so funny?" He stomped his foot just to finish up his little fit.

I finally stopped laughing long enough to answer. "This little temper tantrum you're throwing! You say you're not a kid, but you're clearly acting like one. It's hilarious."

Steam seemed to shoot from ears. It baffled me how pissed I just made this kid. There's always a turning point in every conversation that could make it better or worse, and that point was right now. I quit laughing hysterically and put my hands up in false peace. The boy relaxed his body, albeit only enough to not look like he was going to kill me.

"Look. I need to talk to Pentu. Tell him to get his pathetic ass in here pronto."

He relaxed more at my sudden change of conversation. "Alright." He replied after a loud sigh.

"Also, how long will you be here?" The question just seemed to pop out; it didn't even cross my mind.

The boy gave me a skeptical look. "Hopefully longer than your other keepers. Why the question?"

"No reason." Then I raised an eyebrow. "Longer than the others? Let me guess, there's also a horrible rumor to go along with the job."

"Exactly," The kid smirked. "they say the white-haired cat chimera has chased off more keepers and assistants than all the others combined."

This time I managed to keep the laughter to a series of small snorts. "Jeez, and here I thought I was the nicest chimera here."

"Yeah sure Knil." He turned to walk away, but then he stopped. "By the way, what's your real name? I know that you couldn't have had a name like that outside the lab."

"Never had one." That was all that I cared to say. "How 'bout you, kid?"

He visibly tensed back up, then quickly relaxed once more. He turned sideways and smiled. "It's James."

James turned back around and left. I could tell by the way he walked that he had a wide smile spread across his face, and that somehow made my day a bit better. I stood up and wandered around my cage. Even though it's a cage in a room with thick concrete walls and a safe-like steel door, I can still stretch my legs . I heard familiar footsteps and Pentu strutted right into my little world. The man seemed to ooze the scent of blood, death, and deception.

I pivoted on a heel and halted his words with an open hand. "Let's get one thing straight, bastard, I'm not doing this for you people. I'm going to fight for my freedom, and mine only." I pointed a thumb at myself for emphasis.

A huge smile spread across his disgustingly pale face and pressed his hands together. "Excellent! I knew you would change your mind. I'll go tell the general now."

I rolled my eyes and growled. "Whatever, just get the hell out of here. Your stench is making my skin crawl."

Pentu chuckled and slammed the door shut. The ever present fluorescent continued their annoying yet calming buzzing tune. I fell back onto the cot and face-palmed with both hands.

"What did I just do?" I mentally was kicking myself in the ass repeatedly.

_**You just saved our lives.**_ Kitten reared her white and gray spotted head.

"Wait, correction, what did **you** just do." I groaned inwardly.

**Did Kitten make the right choice? Will Knil live through her first battle? You'll find out in the next chapter!**

**Heads up so you don't get confused! I'll be switching to a third person POV next chapter to see how well I can write it. If it gets too suckish, I'll cease and desist then continue in various first person POV's. Be sure and warn me if it takes a down hill turn!**

**Oh, and another note, I do have anonymous reviews turned on, so you have no excuse not to review or ask questions; unless you can't think of anything nice or helpful to say. So get to clicking and typing my wonderful readers!**


	4. New Prison

**I'M SO SORRY! I nearly forgot about poor Knil! I have almost as bad of a memory as an Alzheimer old person! I'm a terrible authoress! *sulks in dark corner* I hope you can forgive me! Now I'll shut up and let you read…**

The large steel door swung open and a white cloaked scientist stepped into the room. A wide smirk on his lips and a pompous aura to add to his horrendous, bloody scent.

"Knil! Get up!" He shouted rudely and out of the blue.

Said white-haired chimera groaned to consciousness. Her evil glare full of irritation and grogginess didn't phase the sadistic alchemist.

She shook her head and glanced at the clock. "What the hell Pentu? It's two in the damn morning!" Knil growled.

Pentu swung his head to the side. "Well look who's not a morning person." He then swung his head back forward. "You'll have to get over that though. War time starts earlier and ends later than prison time."

Pentu snapped his fingers and two military officers stepped in beside him. One was carrying a steel hand lock and the other feet shackles. Pentu stepped up to the cage door, pulled a lone key from his coat pocket, and unlocked the squeaky opening.

Knil, now fully awake and thoroughly annoyed, sat up patiently and waited for the officers to bind her arms and legs. Her long tail flicked constantly and a feral growl rumbled in her throat when one of the men grabbed her hands. The men stepped back after they were done and let her stand up.

"What's with the bindings? Afraid I'll knock you out again, bastard?" Knil sneered as she walked past all three men to wait by the door.

The officers eyed her constantly, ready to jump at the slightest movement toward escape. They both knew full well that she could easily break the bindings from the information they received from Pentu.

Pentu re-locked the cage and opened the room door. "I'm not afraid of you, Chimera, they're only there to slow you down."

Knil rolled her eyes then flinched back at the bright light that poured into the dark room. The men pushed her shoulders, making the chimera stumble then growl in their general direction. She followed Pentu through the winding halls of the facility. the other scientists, assistants, and keepers all stared at the small precession as it passed. Finally, at the end of a large hallway, double doors marked the way to the outside world. A small surge of adrenaline shot through the chimera's veins at the mere thought of being outside again. One of the officers moved forward and pushed open the doors.

It was surprisingly dark outside, the sun was only just starting to break through the horizon. Knil couldn't look at enough things; all the scents and sounds intrigued the sheltered chimera like it was her first time outside ever.

Her eyes landed on the wagon car parked in the street and the numerous soldiers sitting on the benches under the canvas. The two men behind Knil shoved her again and picked her up and into the wagon car. After climbing in themselves, Pentu trotted up the car and placed an icy hand on Knil's shoulder. She couldn't swipe around fast enough to catch the alchemist's hand between her teeth before the two men latched onto her shoulders, holding her away from the scientist.

"Touch me again and lose the hand!" Knil bared her elongated fangs and hissed; pushing against both of men's hands.

Pentu huffed and crossed his arms. "If you want to be freed after the war, I suggest that you sign this."

He pulled a small contract from his lab coat along with a fountain pen. Knil continued with her icy glare until Pentu 'Oh'd' in realization.

"You can write, can't you?" He questioned slyly.

"Of course I can, asshole! It's hard to sign something with your hands shackled though!" She banged her bound wrists on top of the wood barrier for more emphasis.

The two men glanced at Pentu, then at a wave of the scientist's hand, one of them unshackled Knil's wrists while the other continued to hold her back. Knil quickly snatched the two items from Pentu's hands. Her eyes sped over the contract's terms before signing the paper and returning it to the cold man. The two officers quickly re-shackled Knil's wrists and allowed her to sit back against the canvas and wood bench.

His toothy smirk reared its ugly head again before Pentu patted the car, signaling the driver it was time to leave. The wagon car roared to life before speeding down the street.

_It would be so easy to jump off of this train to hell right now, but I don't feel like getting road rash._ Knil thought with a sigh.

Her ears twitched with the mumblings of the other soldiers. The two women in front of Knil saw fit to point at the chimera's pointed cat ears. The small white triangles bent flat against Knil's head as she let out a loud cat hiss. This caught everyone's attention and they all ceased their incessant murmuring.

"Listen the lot o' ya!" Knil chuckled as her old accent came back with a vengeance. "If you have something to say about my looks, I highly suggest you do it now while I'm unable to kill you!"

After a minute of fearful silence, one of the men in the upper corner cleared his throat. "If you're supposed to be this high tempered, dangerous chimera, why'd they let you out into the war with normal soldiers?"

The chimera smirked, purposely showing her fangs to the man. "I guess they just want to get rid of me. Why else would they send me to a place where people die every other second?"

This promptly shut the man up. No one else dared to ask another question or answer the one Knil countered with. The white-haired teen propped a bare foot onto the section of bench she was sitting on and set her chin on her knee; the ankle chain allowing her other foot to dangle mid-air. Knil's eyelids began to droop and before long, said chimera was sound asleep on the train to hell.

The car came to a small screeching stop, causing everyone to jerk uncomfortably. Knil woke up quickly and yawned. An attempt to rub her eyes just led to the restraints poking her in the face. A military officer, a high ranking one by the amount of bars and stars on his shoulders, stood in front of the trailer in a stiff military stance.

"Welcome to the frontlines, ladies and gentlemen." He spoke clearly and strongly. "Once you step foot onto this ground, there is a chance you will not make it home. If you want to see your families again, I highly suggest you don't leave your bench. Otherwise for the rest of you, get down here!"

Every person in the covered car hopped out of the vehicle, but when it was Knil's turn, the officer stopped her with an open hand inches from her nose.

"Hold on special case. You wait here for a minute."

Knil narrowed her eyes and waited, albeit impatiently, until the twenty soldiers left and Knil and the officer were left alone.

His dark eyes flicked to Knil and stayed vigilant. "I've heard many things about you, chimera. Most of them aren't good either."

"Really now? Like what?" She sneered.

"That doesn't matter. There's only two things that do matter." Knil's face cooled into a countenance as serious as the man's. "One: I don't care whether you are chimera or human. You are a soldier under my supervision and it is my duty to lead you until you die or take leave. Then two: I refuse to allow you to cause discord among my soldiers. If you even attempt to start anything, I will discharge and send you right back to Laboratory Five. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

The officer nodded and gestured for the chimera to exit the car. The shackles didn't make the task simple and the man had to hold Knil steady until she was standing firmly on the sandy ground.

"These," The man grabbed the wrist chain. "I also don't comply with." He dropped the chain and turned toward the camp behind them. "Harrison! Get over here!"

The brunette ran to his superior and stood at attention. "Yes Colonel?"

"Find the keys to this girl's restraints and if you can't, find an alchemist."

"Sir!" Harrison saluted and disappeared in a cloud of dust as he hurried.

The colonel turned back to Knil and held out his hand. "My name's Zac Charrelstone by the way, Colonel Charrelstone."

The white-haired teen smirked and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too. I don't have a name, but I'm called Knil."

Harrison returned with a small key ring and handed it to the colonel. After saluting, the soldier left once again. Knil lifted her hands to Charrelstone and both sets of shackles were quickly removed. The colonel wrapped his arm around Knil's shoulders and after getting his hand nearly bitten clean off, the two walked into the military camp.

**Alright, apparently you don't completely hate me because you're still reading. So I'll give you a special cookie if you review as well. Be sure and scorn me if my third person was absolutely frickin terrible!**


	5. The Mission

**I live yet again! Wow, talk about epic fail in keeping up with my story! Anywhose as I go sulk in corner at my epic failure, read the chapter!**

"_Sister! Get up!" Raven's excited voice and constant shaking managed to rouse the small white-haired girl from her deep sleep._

_The girl groaned and pulled the tattered blanket over her face. "What do you want Raven? I swear if you only found another shiny rock I'm going to punch you…"_

_Raven's eyebrows furrowed. "No! Brother brought back a whole basket of bread and fruit!"_

"_Food!" She nearly jumped over the dark-haired boy to run out of the small room, shouting, "Food! Food! Food!"._

_Skidding to halt, with Raven close behind, both children nearly clambered over each other to reach the basket and the taller boy whom was carrying it._

"_Both of you calm down!" The tallest scorned with a chuckle. "There's more than enough for all three of us."_

_The two children's eyes shone as they stood still, fairly patiently. Neither of them had seen so much food at once before. Setting down the basket, the eldest handed each one of them a loaf of bread and a few pieces of fruit. Both small kids sat on the torn up couch and tore into the food, then the little girl stared at the eldest boy with a raised eyebrow._

"_Where'd you get all of this food, Brother?" The sister questioned._

_He stared down at his bitten loaf as his ears started to grow pink with his blush. "Well… let's just say there's a few stand-keepers who are very pissed right now and a quite a few MP's are searching that part of the city…"_

_The chunk of apple in her mouth fell out and hit the floor. "Brother! I'm younger than you, and even I don't get caught!"_

_The eldest whipped his head up, all evidence of a blush gone. "That's because you're too small to be seen!"_

_The insulted girl's eyes narrowed to dangerously closed slits. "Just because I wasn't gifted with tallness doesn't mean you have to rub in yours, you overgrown weed. Just wait until I hit my growth spurt!" She spat back._

_Raven watched in tired amusement as his two adoptive siblings started yet another battle of insults and banter pertaining to height; all the while devouring his own portion of fruit and bread._

"It's dawn chimera! Soldiers are to be ready to receive orders by sunrise ! I thought you would know that by now." A soldier on the cot beside her woke the sleeping pseudo-human.

A low groan was emitted by Knil. She opened one blue cat eye to attempt a glare at the man before throwing off the wool blanket and stretching in a normal feline manner.

"Ugh, I hate these early mornings." She grumbled while searching blindly for her blue military jacket to slip over her black long-sleeved shirt. "When will you people learn that sleep is a necessary thing and not a privilege?"

"And when will you learn, Knil, that on the battlefield, sleep is a well received privilege. Providing that you feel safe enough to sleep that is."

Blinking a few times, Knil's blurred vision focused and she was able to recognize Colonel Charrelstone was the one who woke her and not some random soldier she could punch later.

"Hey Colonel, what's the morning slop?" The cat chimera's wide yawn added to her nonchalant question to her superior.

"The usual, gravy and toast with a healthy helping of sand." The tell-tale sound of exasperation graced the word 'sand'.

"Well that's just wonderful!" A thick layer of sarcasm added some humor to the situation. Knil buttoned the blue jacket and snatched her sand colored trench coat from the tangled mess of bedding before standing up and following the young colonel into the early morning desert sun.

"Jeez, I wish the entire day would stay this nice! All this hot desert sunlight makes my tail fur itchy." Knil added emphasis to her complaint by scratching the flicking black and white tail by her side.

Charrelstone chuckled. "I would say I feel your pain, but I don't have a tail to back up my statement."

The chimera rolled her eyes and walked a little faster into the food tent. Snatching up a tray by habit, Knil fell into the line along with the other men and woman waiting for the morning slop. Charrelstone, following close behind, stopped beside Knil with his own stainless steel tray. Aside from the menial conversations some enlisted soldiers were having with one another, the morning stayed quiet. The line continued to move until everyone got their ration of slop. Just as the chimera and colonel sat down and started to eat, the megaphone overhead on the wood pole shrieked to life.

"Alchemic Squad, Colonel Charrelstone, report to General Proral's command tent immediately. I repeat, Colonel Charrelstone of Alchemic Squad, report to General Proral's command tent immediately." The intercom fluctuated the man's voice severely.

"Damn," Charrelstone cursed between his mouthful of food before he quickly swallowed. "can't I even eat breakfast without having to deal with some pompous general?"

"Apparently not, but quit your bitching and go see who Proral wants us to go kill this time." Knil smacked the back of the colonel's head.

He swatted the offending hand away and left with a piece of toast covered with gravy in hand. The general's tent was the largest pile of fabric and metal in the camp, so it wasn't hard to miss. Quickly devouring his final piece of bread, Charrelstone wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stepped into the cool tent. Even though the sun hadn't risen yet, the desert was beginning to heat up and only the safety of the shade could keep one from cooking alive in their uniform. The colonel and general saluted to each other before the general took a seat.

" Colonel Charrelstone, I have an assignment for you. We have intel that the Xingese are on the move again and we can't afford to lose the northern foothills. I need you and your squad of alchemists and the chimera to locate and eliminate any Xingese soldiers that might be camping in the foothills or within the immediate area."

"When do you want us to leave, sir?"

"Right now. We need those little villagers out of our way so we can continue marching toward Xing."

"Understood sir. I will gather my men and we will leave immediately."

"Good, you're dismissed Colonel." General Proral waved off his subordinate.

Right outside the tent, unbeknownst to the colonel, was Knil. She had pulled up a barrel and waited outside for her commanding officer. As soon as he exited the tent, Charrelstone visibly let his shoulders relax, much to the amusement of the nearby chimera.

Not even bothering to suppress her chuckle, Knil jumped up and leaned on the colonel's shoulder. He didn't even flinch. "So, you want me to go get the others?"

"Yes please, and tell Terkson to bring enough supplies for two days. Don't want us shriveling up halfway to the foothills." Charrelstone slipped out from under Knil's weight and continued walking.

Knil gave him a salute and ran off in the direction of the barracks. A quick look around revealed the squad's hiding place – hiding from the already hot heat of the day. She rolled her eyes and jogged into the tent.

"Alright guys and gal. We got a mission from Proral." Knil announced to the five people sitting at a barrel playing some card game.

All of them cursed and complained simultaneously and slapped down their cards in a somewhat pile. The only blonde, and person above enlisted man, spoke up from his seat.

"What's the general having us do now? He groaned. "I was about to win!"

"Ha! That's a load of crap!" The female brunette across from him countered. "You have a horrible poker face, I knew you only had scrap!"

The blonde grew flustered and started to tap his fingers on his knee. "So… uh… Knil! Where are we going this time?" He stammered before remembering his initial question.

The chimera rolled her eyes yet again at the group. "Up to the northern foothills. The general got word of a small Xingese group trying to camp out in the hills. He ordered us to go up there and eliminate them before they become a threat. So everybody get up and start packing, we leave as soon as everyone's ready."

All of the squad stood up and went about their business packing. As Knil walked over to her cot, something clicked in her brain.

"Oh yeah… Hey Terkson! The colonel said to pack extra supplies, good enough for about two days." Said black-haired man responded with an 'okay', not bothering to look up from what he was doing.

The six soldiers gathered all the supplies needed, plus a few they didn't via the horrible poker-face blonde looking for revenge. Terkson returned dragging a few and carrying a few more bags of supplies.

"Why does it always have to be me to go get the rations?" Terkson whined as he dropped the bags in the doorway.

"Because you're our favorite pack mule!" Knil chuckled, lying down on her cot attempting an impossible cat nap.

The man growled then quickly sighed. The other soldiers suppressed their laughter and sat patiently, waiting for the colonel. Knil finally gave up on her nap and sat up with the others. The awaited person finally showed up in the tent and stayed in the doorway.

"Alright men, let's move out."

The squad simultaneously stood up. "Sir!"

**I needs your opinions on my story! Don't worry, you'll get some good ol' Brotherhood characters very soon! Just bear with me!**

**Now go review! Go ahead! Click the button!**


	6. Lost

**Helloooo! Umbra-Neko has returned bearing another chapter! This one's bigger than usual! Yay! Just as a little note, the squad is on a first name basis 98% of the time, besides referring to the colonel by his rank. So any names the squad refers to each other is more ofter than not their first name. Please, if you're confused about anything, don't hesitate to PM me. Okedoke? Now onward into the story!**

"Damn… why does the desert have to be so hot?" The white-haired chimera groaned. "It feels like there's ants crawling in my fur…"

The squad had been trudging through blistering sand since before noon. The heavy tan coats and blue military jackets had long since been removed and stuffed in the large packs strapped to everyone's backs.

Colonel Charrelstone glared with tired eyes at the teen. "There's nothing to shade the ground and block the sun, that's why."

"Thank you, Colonel Obvious." Knil retorted loud enough for the rest to hear.

A simultaneous chuckle sounded from the men and woman behind the two arguing people. Charrelstone sighed in defeat. He was just too tired and hot to argue with the short-tempered chimera girl. Looming, just inches above the horizon, were the foothills. A spark lit up everyone's feet and they moved a little faster toward the raised land. The sparse clumps of dead brush multiplied into live trees and green bushes.

"Finally! Sweet sweet shade!" Terkson exclaimed, collapsing in the shade and wrenched his canteen from his discarded pack.

"You can say that again…" Jennifer sighed while plopping down beside a fairly large bush.

"Alright," The colonel swallowed before he spoke up from his little thorn tree. "after five minutes, we'll start looking for those Xingese soldiers."

"Sir." Everyone confirmed around the water in their mouths.

The five minutes went by too fast for everyone's tastes, but there was work to be done. After packing their things and arming themselves, the squad started into the foothills. In a small clearing, Charrelstone lifted his fist, a signal for everyone to stop.

"We need to split into two groups if we ever want to find those soldiers before dusk." The squad nodded in agreement. "James, you take Terkson and Jennifer and do a clean sweep of the eastern section. I'll lead Knil, Philip, and William to the west."

A synchronized salute confirmed the order. Second Lieutenant James took off to the east tailed by Terkson and Jennifer. The colonel's group started in the opposite direction.

_Something doesn't feel right here. My tail is fluffing up just from the air…_ Knil thought warily until a different sound made here ears twitch quickly.

"Colonel! Get back now!" The chimera's shout was heeded immediately. Charrelstone jumped back, landing on his butt just in time for the leaf debris covered ground to collapse.

Philip poked his head over the side of the wide circular hole and visible cringed. "Colonel, you were almost a very dead man. Come look."

The other two enlisted soldiers glanced over the edge a shuttered. After steady his breath, Charrelstone did the same, only with a more frightened result. The bottom of the pit had large spikes driven into the hard ground beneath. It also looked like some kind of liquid was covering the wooden spikes.

"I knew it. This ground doesn't sound safe, not in the least." Knil snarled.

All three men looked at the cat chimera with confused eyes. Knil rolled her own and tossed a random rock a few yards ahead of the discovered hole. It landed right on top of another hole and an even larger hole revealed itself.

"This entire area is littered with traps." Knil said simply. "Right as you stepped above that hole, Colonel, your footsteps sounded lighter and more suspended. You humans wouldn't have been able to pick it up though…"

"But wait," William said. "if there are traps here, don't you think the others are in danger as well."

"Foster's right. Knil, you need to go inform the others immediately." The colonel ordered. "We'll toss stones ahead before we step anywhere."

The chimera nodded and dropped her pack by a tree after pulling out her sand colored trench. She pulled the light cloth on and started in the general direction of the others.

"Alright men, keep a sharp eye out and pick up anything that could set off those traps."

Sticking to jumping across tree branches to avoid pitfalls, Knil kept going at a fast pace. A few minutes into the trees, a foreign accent pierced the air. Landing on a branch with all four limbs clinging to it, Knil stopped and listened.

"Yep, that's Xingese alright. Shit, now I have to warn them of two foul things." Knil grumbled while continuing jumping across the trees.

James' blonde hair stood out against the dark green foliage and as Knil got closer, the more the group stood out.

Knil stopped in a tree and hissed down quietly. "Guys! I heard the Xingese! They're close by!"

The three soldiers jumped. "Knil! What the hell? Where's the Colonel? And what do you mean you heard them?" James questioned with an irritated tone.

"It's like I said, moron, the Xingese are close by. They'll be here any second! Also, they've made pitfall traps and who knows what else around here, so step lightly."

All three soldiers looked around them anxiously, but quickly returned their attention to the white-haired chimera. A fuzzy white ear flicked backward as Knil's attention shifted to the approaching Xingese.

"They're a few yards away!" Knil informed, hopping to another branch that was higher up in a different tree.

Right as everyone pulled out their guns, the foreign words ceased to reach Knil's ears. The whole area was dead silent. The Xingese weren't making a sound as they got closer to the small group. Soon enough though, from Knil's high position, she counted at least five heads slinking through the undergrowth. She looked down at the Amestrians. Their guns sitting on the small ledge, pointed straight at the Xing soldiers.

_We have to attack now, or those closed-eye creepers are gonna get the upper hand._ Knil's tail twitched slightly, unable to stay still with the anticipation weighing down the air.

Swiping her hand forward, James took the chimera's gesture and charged forward with Terkson and Jennifer on either side. Knil leapt from the tree and landed silently behind the Xingese crouching low to avoid the imminent flying bullets. The first shot fired and all hell broke loose. Unsheathing a good-sized blade, Knil swiped across the neck off the first Xingese that turned to hide in the brush. Blood sprayed from the artery that was sliced open and the soldier fell dead beside the victim of the first gunshot. Another Xing soldier fell from the chimera's blade before the final two collapsed due to the bullets in their center mass.

"Are they all gone?" Jennifer asked lowly.

After wiping the blood from her knife on a Xingese's shirt, Knil stood up and confirmed with a 'yeah'. The chimera jumped out of the bushes and landed beside James.

"That's all for now, I didn't hear anything else. But I have a feeling that that wasn't the end of it. I think those guys might've split up just like we did. We should go back to the colonel and continue as a group."

"Colonel." Knil leapt from the trees and landed beside the dark-haired man. "We were attacked by five Xingese, but we defeated them quickly. The others should be here any minute. I figured we would be safer as a group."

"That's a good idea. I guess we would be safer that way."

As Charrelstone finished, the other three emerged from the bushes.

"Jeez Knil, you need to slow down. If you didn't have white hair, we wouldn't have been able to follow you." Terkson griped, trying to catch his breath.

Knil rubbed the back of her head. "Heh heh, sorry 'bout that."

"That's enough. We need to keep moving, but be careful and keep quiet." The colonel ordered.

Everyone nodded and while the humans took the ground path, Knil kept an eye and ear out from the trees. Two hours passed and nothing exciting happened, excepts for springing several more pitfalls and suspending net traps.

"Knil, you hear anything?" Philip asked.

"Nope, the only thing I hear are these annoying damn birds… hold on."

Everyone stopped and looked up at the now bristling chimera. She took a deep sniff of the air. Sorting through the scents of flora and fauna, the distinct acrid scent of burning wood hit Knil's nostrils.

"They've made a camp somewhere nearby, I can smell their campfire." She announced.

"Great job Catgirl. Are they still there?" James said.

Knil glared down and hissed at the blonde. "I told you not to call me that, bastard. Give me a minute, smoke's hard to small through." Another deep whiff and surprisingly enough, the smell of dirty humans emanated behind the smoke. "Yeah, I don't know how many though. I'll go check." Knil jumped from her perch deeper into the woods.

"Be careful chimera." Charrelstone ordered.

Knil rolled her eyes, unbeknownst to them. _I just can't wait to get this war shit over with, then I'll be free again! I still don't know why I didn't run that first night…_

_**Because they're the first ones to see past your ears and tail.**__ Kitten interrupted from nowhere._

_You again! Go away! I'm working! Knil snapped at the cat soul inside her._

_**Why can't you ever be nice to little Kitten?**__ The she-cat mewed, curling up in her fluffy ball once more._

_Just go back to sleep. I'll get you when I wanna talk to myself. Knil ended the discussion._

The Xingese camp came into sight and Knil stopped a few trees away from the small huddle of tents.

"Alright, how many humans are there this time?" The chimera mumbled to herself. "Let's see here… Two in a tent, three around the fire roasting some kind of feral pig, and four more sitting guard around the site. That makes nine of them and seven of us. That works for me. Time to go back."

Several tree hops later and the six Amestrians came into sight. "There's nine of them. I can take out the four guards and you guys charge in." Knil suggested, landing beside them sturdily.

"No, you can't take all four of them out by yourself without being discovered." Charrelstone countered. Knil scowled from the indirect insult to her skill, but continued to listen anyway. "Jennifer, you, William, and Knil will take out the guards. After that, the rest of us will charge in and you three block their escape."

"Fine, but you two better keep up." Knil pointed to the two soldiers.

"Or maybe you should slow down, Speedy." Jennifer retorted with a slight chuckle.

Knil's ears flattened back with a playful hiss. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just get this done with. I wanna go back to base and sleep."

Knil and two soldiers started toward the Xingese's camp and Charrelstone took the others in a wide 'U' shape, giving the others plenty of time to do their job. The chimera leapt around to the far side, drew her knife and jumped beside a pudgy Xing man. He didn't get a word in before his jugular was sliced clean open along with his wind pipe. The next guard didn't see the chimera until the knife went through his heart. At the same time, Jennifer and William shot simultaneously from a distance, dropping the final two. As the shots rang out, Charrelstone and the others burst from the undergrowth and stormed the camp. In a matter of seconds the Xingese grabbed their guns and met the squad with their own bullets. Knil ran into the camp and cut down a soldier , narrowly missing a bayonet which hit her sandy coat. A bullet connected with the Colonel's shoulder and he hit the ground with a thud. The other men of the squad shot the rest of the Xingese and after the gun smoke cleared they all rushed to their fallen leader.

Knil crouched beside the dark-haired officer and turned him onto his back. "Charrelstone! Are you still alive? Say something!"

"Would you quit yelling, you dumb chimera. Your loudness in hurting more than this bullet in my arm." The man grumbled.

Everyone sighed in relief. "Can you walk?" James asked.

Charrelstone looked over at his subordinate. "Of course I can. I wasn't shot in the leg." As he tried to stand, Knil pushed down on his unwounded shoulder.

"How 'bout you wait until Terkson bandages that. You'll bleed out if you start moving now." The white-haired girl pointed out.

Like on a set cue, Terkson pulled the first aid kit from his pack and moved Knil out of the way. "You need to lose the jacket and shirt, sir."

"Oh yeah. Give me a hand here James."

"Right." The blonde nodded.

As they fixed the colonel up the rest of the squad looked over the dead bodies. Jennifer gasped and quickly backed away from the one she was looking over.

"Just to add to the fact that they're using Amestrian guns, they've booby trapped them too! Don't pick up the guns!"

Everyone flinched back from the bodies and looked back at the colonel, who was now on his feet attempting to put on his shirt.

He cleared his throat. "Amestrian guns huh? They probably stole them from a supply convoy or another camp."

"Probably." Philip spoke up. "I don't see any other way they could've gotten them."

_I could say that the military might be supplying them with weapons, but we're trying to win this little war, not prolong it._ Knil pondered before she noticed that the colonel was giving orders.

"… head back to camp and report this."

"Sir!" Everyone saluted and the squad made their way out of the small oasis that was the northern foothills.

In the wide area of the desert, the wind started to pick up from the small breeze that it had been moments ago.

"Hey, Colonel, I think a sandstorm's about to start. We should probably take cover." Jennifer pointed out.

The man looked into the wind, blocking the sand with his forearm. "You might be right, Jenn. Everyone, you know what to do."

Being out in the desert for almost a month makes you drill those steps into your base instincts. The whole squad, excluding Knil, took out their trench coats and slipped them on along with putting their hoods up. Since the packs weighed a figurative ton, you could just hide behind it and be protected against the worst of the wind and sand blowing at you at 30+ miles an hour.

Right as everyone huddled down, the sandstorm hit full force and blasted the squad. Knil in particular had a hard time because the mass of hair that's her tail and long head hair collected massive amounts of sand.

"Dammit. I freaking hate sandstorms." The chimera griped.

She continued cursing all the while behind her pack as the storm continued to batter them mercilessly. About a half an hour later, the wind finally stopped and Knil was able to haul herself out from under the sand that had accumulated.

Shaking her ears and hair free of the grains of sand that defied her fingers, Knil looked around to survey the damage, and it was a lot worse than she suspected.

"Guys! Where'd you go? Charrelstone! Jenn! Terkson! Anybody!" She shouted into the empty air.

No response, not a peep.

"Oh no… this is very, very bad. Where the hell are you guys!"

**Buhahaha! Another cliffy! Now go fave, follow, or review. Which ever you prefer! Pretty please! I'll give a nom-licious cookie!**


	7. New Friend

**Hey there! Hola! Konichiwa! Aloha! And all those other greetings! I've been really good about keeping these chapters going lately and hopefully school won't interrupt my muses.**

**Knil: And by muses you mean your cats?**

**Me: *glare* No!... maybe…**

**Knil: That's what I thought! *arrogant huff* Why do you enjoy putting me in painful or life threatening situation? It's getting annoying.**

**Me: Because I'm a sadistic little bitch like that! :)**

**Knil: *huge sweatdrop* **

**Raven: When am I going to show up? The bucket you're keeping me in is cramped… :( **

**Me: Away with you! Back in your bucket in the corner of my brain! I'll get you when da' Plot says to!**

**Raven: *sulk trudge***

Minutes ago, I was trudging through the cooling desert with my squad. Everything was going perfectly fine, then, that accursed sandstorm hit us. Somehow I was separated from the others in the midst of the sand and wind pummeling us. Now I'm alone, in a desert, with night quickly approaching and only enough food and water to last another day. I could ask how it could get any worse, but then life will just bite me in the ass like it always does.

I flopped back down beside my pack and attempted to think the situation through. When silent thought didn't work, I resorted to talking aloud. It wasn't like anyone can hear me out here.

"For optimism's sake, I'm free again and the military thinks I'll be dead in a few days so they won't come looking for me. But from a pessimistic point of view, if I go back to the military camp, I'll just be kept there until I get killed or the war ends and I'm sent back to the laboratory. There's no way in hell I'm going to be cooped up in that room again, so I guess my only option is to wander through the desert until I find civilization."

I groaned and slumped against my large pack. Looking up at the darkening sky, the colors made by the sun on the horizon seemed even more beautiful than the ones I saw as a kid in the slums Central. Then a thought donned on me.

_Let's see, if I'm heading for civilization, I either need to head west to Amestris or east to Xing. Since any sane Xingese person with a weapon will kill me on sight, west is my only option. Going back to the foothills and resupplying on water will probably be my best choice._

"Well then, back to the foothills." I stood up, slung my backpack on and headed north for the second time today.

The trudge back to the large oasis in the hills only took an hour or so. The green foliage held a bittersweet greeting, but my morals have been almost abandoned by now. Traveling farther into the miniature jungle was easy if you leapt through the trees and avoided the dead bodies and traps that could lead to your doom. The canopy shielded me from the disappearing sunlight and made the climate even colder. In the irony of it all, I kind of wanted the sun back.

A steep hill gave way into the large pool of water that gave this area its life. Anyone else would've gone around to the less steep hill and slid down to the water, but due to my lazy nature I took the easy way and jumped down via the ledges that were sturdy enough to hold me for a few seconds. I landed with a slight 'thump' at the water's edge and I looked over the area.

"I guess now I should go through my stuff and see what all I have…" I muttered after topping off my large water bottle and canteen.

Sitting down with my pack, I unzipped all the compartments and laid out everything. Several sealed metal cans of food off to one side. The two water containers set down beside them. My knife and a .45 handgun I never use unless of an emergency sitting right in front of me. A sleeping bag and finally my military jacket.

I repacked everything, safe for the canteen and knife, and leaned back against the stone cliff.

"Okay. If I can find some edibles here, I'll be able to save the cans for travel…."

**SNAP**

I jumped to my feet, knife in hand, and stared into the bushes that were now rustling. I expected some Xingese soldiers or some animal that I would probably end up eating, but this honestly surprised me. A tall, blonde man in a nice suit stepped out of the undergrowth. His golden eyes widened and he took a step back once he saw me.

"Who are you? Whose side are you on?" I snarled, my tail was lashing back and forth uncontrollably.

"Whoah now. I'm on no one's side. Just calm down and put down your weapon." He urged.

Something was not right with this man. By now I could smell the fear on a person, but this man had almost no scent at all and there was something else about him that made my skin crawl. I heeded his request and stood upright, sliding the knife into its sheathe; but I never dropped my guard.

"That's better. Now that you aren't going to kill me, I should go ahead and explain myself." The golden man said while walking towards me.

He sat down a few feet away and I did the same; my tail still refusing to stay still.

"I see that you're a chimera, and part of the Amestrian military." He pointed to the blue pants and my flicking fluffy appendage.

He opened his mouth again, but this was not a conversation about me. "Hold on there. You're supposed to explaining yourself, not me. I'll tell you my story after you tell me yours. How about a name first of all."

"My name is Van Hoenheim, but just call me Hoenheim." He put so simply that it was irritating.

I crossed my arms and legs and leaned against the cliff again. "Alright Hoenheim," I dragged his name with a slight sneer. "now tell me why you're out in the middle of the desert with a war going on."

"I'm traveling to Amestris actually. A friend of mine is living there and he wants me to come live there also. But as for the war, that isn't of any concern to me. I'm staying well clear of any battles, and it looks like I narrowly missed one here."

I flattened my ears back and glanced away before meeting his golden eyes again. "Yeah, my squad was here earlier today and we eliminated some Xingese soldiers that were hiding in this mini-jungle."

"What happened to rest of your squad then?" Looks like all this man wanted to do was avoid talking about himself. I growled inwardly but continued anyway.

"We got separated in a sandstorm, but I'm happy I'm alone now. I was forced into the military and I hated every minute of it." It wasn't the complete truth, but not a total lie either.

"Ah, I see." Hoenheim pushed up his glasses. "How did you become a chimera? Did a transmutation go wrong?"

"More like it went right for the bastards that did this to me!" I snapped. "I had no say in what happened! They kidnapped my two brothers and I one day, separated us, and then some scientists mixed me with a house cat!" Blood was roaring in my ears and I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath before continuing. "After that, they sent me into the war as a weapon. This has been my first taste of freedom in almost a year."

I finished and all Hoenheim did was stare at me. It wasn't a surprised or sorry stare. It showed curiosity more than anything. Then his large hands started to shake; an unnatural aura seeped from the man and it made my entire being bristle up and stand on end. His head dipped down and the whole forest fell silent; there wasn't a single chirp in the air. I just wanted to curl up in the corner and hide from him, but I sat those few feet away from the golden-eyed man until he sighed.

"Hoenheim? You alright old man?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for telling me this."

Hoenheim stood up and started to walk away. I got to my feet, slapped on my bag and started after him.

"Hey! Where are you going all of a sudden?" I shouted up to him.

"To Central." There he went with the irritatingly simple answers again.

I slowed to a walk beside the man and watched his focused golden eyes. "Look, if this has anything to do with me, you should just forget about it. What's done is done and there's no way to reverse it. I may not be happy about it, but there's no use in complaining."

Hoenheim stopped and looked down at me. This man, so far, was the only being that made me feel like a frightened little kitten and I didn't like it in the least.

His condescending stare suddenly disappeared with a wide, closed-eye grin. "You're right… you never told me your name, miss."

"I don't have one really." Now I answered simply. "But the scientists told everyone to call me Knil, so I guess I'll keep going by that."

"Alright, Knil." He put his hand out for me to shake, so I did.

He started walking again and I followed. "So, Hoenheim, if you're heading to Amestris, you mind if I tag along with you? At least until we reach the border. My sense of direction is terrible and you at least look like you know which way you're going."

He chuckled. "Sure. It's always nice to travel with others."

_Not always, Hoenheim. But you don't seem any worse than the people I've been stuck with._

I resettled my backpack straps and stayed a few steps behind the golden man. Something told me that this desert crossing wouldn't take that long after all.

**Hurry! Click the review button and write something! There's a pissed off chimera trying to eat me and she needs something to keep her occupied! Quickly! O.o**


	8. Overview of the Years

**There is nothing that I can say that won't sound like an excuse :( So I'll just be quiet and let you read…**

** Knil: *pat pat***

**Inside the Amestrian/Xing Border**

_The sun was starting breach the horizon. An occasional chirping cricket was the only noise in these grassy hills._

"_Where will you go now?_" _Hoenheim turned around and asked me._

_I continued to look out over the rolling green hills, taking in the scents of Amestris as a free chimera. "I'm going to try to find my brother and Raven. If they were turned into chimeras they were most likely sent into war."_

"_There are border skirmishes in all directions." Hoenheim brought up. "You'll be walking for a while."_

_I chuckled and turned to the older blonde. "I know, but I want to find them. How about you old man?"_

_He nodded his head. "I'm going to keep traveling. There's a good chance that we'll meet up somewhere in the middle."_

"_Alright Hoenheim. See ya there." A waved my hand back and he returned it as he started walking away. I turned north and started my own way._

_**Brother… Raven… I hope you two are still alive…**_

**One month later – outside North City Military Headquarters**

"Hey, did you hear the generals talking? A specialized soldier down in the east was killed in a sandstorm. Her squad leader said that even she wouldn't have been able to survive that storm." An enlisted soldier said to his colleague.

"Really? Are they sure that she just didn't desert them?" The second man countered.

"I didn't hear them after that. They walked away before they finished."

"Well there's no use in spreading a rumor then." The second huffed.

_So the military thinks I'm dead, but on top of that. Charrelstone's the one who said it! Either that man is severely doubting my survival skills or he's covering for me. I really hope he's smart and did the second._

I pulled my black trench coat's collar up, pinned back down my ears, and kept walking.

**1840 – Central City**

I woke up and left the hotel. Passing by a small newsstand, today's headline caught my eye. I snatched up a paper and handed the vendor a bill. I scanned over the paper staying completely silent.

**MAJOR GENERAL CHARRELSTONE FOUND DEAD**

**Fifty-two year old Major General Charrelstone was found dead in his home last night. Evidence at the scene suggest that a robbery was in action when the general was shot. The military police refuse to release anymore information about the matter and said they will stay silent. The general's funeral will be held in the Central Military Cemetery tomorrow morning at nine.**

"So he's dead. I never got to ask him if he was covering for me or was just an idiot." I mumbled quietly, trying to suppress a sharp stinging in my eyes. "I guess I need to stay in town until tomorrow morning then."

**1860 – Western border town**

The elderly couple that let me stay with them overnight saw me off at dawn. The woman refused to let me leave unless I would accept the small basket of food from them. I couldn't turn her down, she was too sweet, albeit a little rough around the edges. As I was leaving the town something wavy and black caught my eye. It was too far off the ground to be an normal animal.

_Raven! I really hope you have a black tail!_

The thing disappeared behind a restaurant and I pursued. Rounding the corner, I looked into the small alleys beside the building, but the object had disappeared.

"Man, now I just feel like an idiot…"

I walked out of the alley and left the town for the dusty road.

**1895 – South City Train Station**

"Knil! Knil is that you?"

_Only one person alive now knows that name…_ "Hoenheim!"

I ran up to the old codger and skid to a halt a few feet away. Both of us looked the other over, I knew it was the golden blonde man I met in the desert just by his faint earthy scent.

"It's great to see you again old man. You were right about us meeting again, just not in the middle."

He rubbed the back of his head and smirked. "I guess you're right. How's your search going? Have you found any trace of either of those boys?"

I looked down at the ground so he wouldn't see the hurt in my eyes. "It's not coming along as good as I had hoped. The only trails of them I've found were military research records I stole, but those only led me to the north for my brother and the west for Raven. The trails ended after that, so I've just been going off on my own. I just hope I get some kind of hint soon."

"I see. I'm sorry that you weren't able to find them yet, but I'm sure you'll be able to find them soon." Hoenheim put a large hand on my shoulder.

I smiled at his optimistic outlook. "I hope so Hoenheim. So how have your travels been going?"

"I've finished my travels." I flinched back in fake shock. "I'm settling down with my new wife in the East. It's a little village called Risembool."

I was thoroughly surprised at this. "That's great! What's her name?"

"Trisha Elric."

He was too tall for me to put an arm around his shoulders, so I settled with a waist hug instead. "I'm happy for ya old man. I wish you would've told me sooner or I would've gotten you a wedding present."

His smile widened. Anyone else would've laughed at that, but I haven't been able to make this man laugh, or even chuckle, once.

"Well, once Trisha and I move in. You're welcome to come by anytime. The house is white and is on top of a large hill."

"Thanks Hoenheim. I'll be sure and come by."

The man over the intercom announced the train bound for Risembool was leaving the station. We shook hands and exchanged smiles. Hoenheim boarded his train along with a pretty brunette, who I guessed was Trisha, on his arm.

I smiled and spun around on one foot, turning to leave the station.

_It's nice to know an old codger like him can get a nice, pretty woman. I hope I find my family soon…_


End file.
